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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Recipes for the Gift of a Meal #KraftEssentials #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Lately I've been thinking about ways I can help the people of our new community and get to know them better. One way is by taking meals to those who are housebound. This is especially important at the holidays when many are feeling lonely or can't get around because of bad roads. I like to have several easy Christmas recipes and easy dessert recipes to choose from. Earlier this week, I went to Walmart for a few ingredients to put together a casserole and dessert---something perfect to bring to someone who is shut in. You can see photos and read about my shop in my Google+ album.

I wanted to come up with things that are easy to make with items I usually already have on hand and things that could be made using our holiday leftovers. My Chicken Ranch Casserole would be just as good with leftover turkey and stuffing from a holiday dinner. Kraft makes it easy with their high quality products. I know I can whip up something delicious, and trust that it will taste good, when I use ingredients like Stove Top Stuffing, Kraft Ranch Dressing, and Kraft Shredded Cheese.

Chicken Ranch Casserole5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts2 Tb. oil1 c. ranch dressing1 c. grated cheddar cheese1 box stuffing mixingredients to prepare stuffing according to package directionsDice chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook in oil until done. Place chicken in a bowl and stir in ranch dressing until coated, pour into a 13x9 pan. Cook stuffing according to package directions. Sprinkle cheese over chicken and evenly top with stuffing. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

When I'm taking someone a meal, I always like to include a dessert and beverage. Our family really enjoys having sparkling cider or juice with our holiday desserts and Welch's Holiday Sparkling beverages are perfect to pair with a Christmas recipe. They come in several flavors---we like Red Grape the best. We always serve the kids their "fancy" drinks in these little vintage ice cream dishes that I picked up at a thrift store a few years ago. My husband and I drink ours from our wedding goblets. It's the only time we use them!

When I was picking out the ingredients for my Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Ganache, I knew Kraft would have the great-tasting items I'd need to make them delicious! I like to use Cool Whip and Baker's Baking Chocolate for a super easy ganache and I prefer Cool Whip over store brands, as I feel like it retains its thick, whipped texture longer than other brands. As for the peanut butter, Planters has been a favorite family brand for years. I chose creamy, since it's my favorite---even though my kids prefer crunchy. Hey, I'm the one making these, right?!

Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Ganache1 1/2 c. peanut butter, divided1/2 c. water1 egg1 boxed yellow or white cake mix4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate1 c. whipped topping2 Tb. peanut butter, optionalHeat oven to 350º and grease a 13x9 pan. Mix 1 c. peanut butter, water, and egg in a bowl until smooth. Add in cake mix and mix well. Spread into pan. Bake 20 minutes or until light golden brown and puffed up a bit. Cool completely. When brownies are cool, melt chocolate and whipped topping, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute; then, if desired, add 2 Tb. peanut butter. Either way, cook one additional minute and then pour onto brownies. Let cool completely. Ganache will thicken as it cools.I'm glad I took the time to make these two easy recipes as I know they're ones that will really bless someone who is needing a meal. I love getting on the list for meal gifting whenever someone has a new baby or has just come home from the hospital. With my large family, it can be hard sometimes to find ways to bless people outside my home, without taking too much time away from my responsibilities here. Making a meal for a shut in can be a blessing for both the homemaker and the one receiving it!How do you like to bless others from your kitchen? Here are some more ideas from Kraft. Let me know if you try any of them out!

7 comments:

These recipes look delicious! I like to make a "stuffing casserole" whenever I need a quick meal. I used to use Kraft products, since they are usually less expensive than anything else in the store (and taste pretty good). Just wondering if you know of the Kraft/ Senomyx link? I don't know if Kraft has changed, but I'd written to them asking about it and they defended their partnership with Senomyx at the time. I don't want to go into detail here, but you can google it.I love your blog and know you love children, so wanted to let you know about this. =) Glad your family had a safe move!

Thanks for the sweet comment. I do remember reading about Senomyx in the past and Googled it for a refresher. It looks like, as of now, Kraft is using Senomyx to help research and develop their flavors. While I do have a HUGE issue with how this technology came to be, I also understand that it's been widely used for over 30 years in many more ways than just flavor research. I believe it's one of those things that has so much permeated the way things are done in our modern world that there's probably not an effective way to avoid everything that has ever crossed paths with the HEK 293 line. However, since this is a Kraft-sponsored post, hopefully they'll read our comments here and consider advocating for a new technology that avoids the potential market for the stem cells of aborted babies.

I'm glad to hear you know about this. It would be wonderful if Kraft would change as I have no other issues with their products. My Mom used to get the Kraft food magazine and we got a lot of good recipes from that. =)Thanks for replying to my comment. =)

Since I do not cook much just for one, I would enjoy a big helping of all your goodies. May you and family have a wonderful, blessed holiday season. What a glorious Christmas it should be with all your precious children.

I'm visiting from a link I followed at A Delightsome Life. That chicken ranch casserole looks delicious! I like the idea of taking sparkling cider with a meal to someone. What a fun idea! Elizabeth from www.BeautyObserved.com

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I read each one of them and love to respond back to those who visit! Please consider signing up for EMAIL NOTICES so you'll have a reminder of our weekly HOMEMAKING PARTY---and more! Have a wonderful day!